Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Secretary to Swagar Sherley political diary
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Secretary to Swagar Sherley political diary
- Date
- 1912 (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.11 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Legislators -- United States.
- Politics and culture.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically and by format.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0023: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Secretary to Swagar Sherley political diary, 1912, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Joseph Swagar Sherley, a Representative from Kentucky, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, November 28, 1871 to Thomas Huffman Sherley (1843-1898) and Ella Swagar (1845-1923). He graduated from the law department of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Louisville all in 1891. In April 1906, Sherley married Mignon Critten (1878-1969) with whom he had three children: Olive (b. 1907), Mignon (1909-1994), and Swagar (1913-2007). In 1903, he was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-eighth Congress and to the seven succeeding Congresses (1903-1919). He served as chairman for the Committee of Appropriations in the Sixty-fifth Congress and ran an unsuccessful reelection campaign in 1918 to the Sixty-sixth Congress. From April 1919, Sherley served as the director of the division of finance of the United States Railroad Administration until his resignation in September 1920 where he then resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C. Swagar passed away during a trip to Louisville on February 13, 1941.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Source: SHERLEY, Joseph Swagar - Biographical Information. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2018, from http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000343
- Scope and Content
- The Secretary to Swagar Sherley political diary (dated 1912; 0.11 cubic feet; 6 folders) consists of the diary kept by Sherley's secretary (unidentified) that documents congressional issues, Progressive politics, and world events in 1912. The secretary comments on important initiatives of the time and discusses popular political figures, including Victor Berger, Joseph "Uncle Joe" Cannon, Caleb Powers, John J. Fitzgerald, and William Jennings Bryan. The diary provides commentary on the sinking of the RMS Titanic and the later congressional committee that investigated the incident, the women's suffrage movement, the textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and the investigation of the steel trust by the Stanley Committee. Additionally, the secretary comments on political corruption and the unseating of Senator William Lorimer after having a Senate Resolution pass that declared his election invalid due to corruption. Also included in this collection is a binder with a number of signatures from politically powerful men, including Samuel Gompers, William Jennings Bryan, and Henry Watterson.
- The Secretary to Swagar Sherley political diary is part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
